[Casey2296]

Originally Posted by BillyCox3

When I first heard of these in the 1980's, they were referred to in a Krause publication as Scraps (one p) and no mention was made of them being a tobacco issue. If I recall, somebody submitted them to the Q&A column in Baseball Cards magazine. Whoever answered the person's query basically replied that they were a mysterious 19th century baseball issue known as Scraps, for lack of better knowledge, and that they were fairly plentiful.

When was the second "p" added? When was the first mention of them as "Scrapps Tobacco", and do we know who coined this incorrect term?

From Al Crisafulli's article;

It is well-known at this point in the hobby that no such brand as “Scrapps Tobacco” ever existed. In fact, none other than Rob Lifson of Robert Edward Auctions, in a 2005 auction description, explained “This seems an appropriate time to clear up a long-standing, obscure hobby mystery relating to the identification of this issue as “Scrapps Tobacco.” This identification first appeared in The Sports Collectors Bible (1975). The fact is, there is no tobacco brand by the name of “Scrapps.” The responsibility for this erroneous attribution, we must admit, falls squarely on the shoulders of Robert Edward Auctions’ President Robert Lifson. ‘Back in 1974, when I was working on The Sports Collectors Bible, editor Bert Sugar called me up and wanted me to clarify the name of this issue. I wasn’t sure what this set should be called, so I called up Dr. Lawrence Kurzok and asked him. Kurzok was one of the great old-time collectors who was a contemporary of Jefferson Burdick. In a very quick fact-checking conversation, he told me they were ‘Scrapps,’ and assuming this was a tobacco issue, I misinterpreted him and thought that he meant ‘Scrapps Tobacco.’ What he really meant was that these cards were a series designed to be glued in scrapbooks…I reported back that this set should officially be catalogued ‘Scrapps Tobacco’ brand…”